Wooing the Koch Brothers is a must for any Republican candidate, but the 2016 candidates may have to share the spotlight.
Charles and David Koch have identified five candidates who have the right message and a “good chance of getting elected” — meaning they might throw their power, money and influence into multiple candidates part of the Republican presidential primary for the first time before possibly settling on one.
Who are those candidates? Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, former Florida governor Jeb Bush and Sens. Ted Cruz of Texas, Rand Paul of Kentucky and Marco Rubio of Florida, Charles Koch told USA Today.
“Those are the ones we have talked to the most and who seem to be the possible leaders,” Koch said. “What we’ve told them all is that right now, we’re not supporting anyone. We’re telling them that if they want our support, one way to get it is articulating a good message to help Americans get a better understanding and a better appreciation of how certain policies … will benefit them and will benefit all America.”
Koch also detailed a $900 million, two-year budget devoted to politics — though only a third of that money ($300 million) would be spent directly on electoral politics in 2016, including federal and state elections.
“Only if somebody really stands out from the standpoint of their message and what they would actually do to benefit America and has a chance a decent chance of being elected, only then would we select one over the others,” Koch said, adding that there is no guarantee he and his brother would back only one candidate ahead of the 2016 general election.
